Facebook event challenges Latter-day Saints to read Book of Mormon in 85 days

Seems to me that for many people, confirmation of the truth of the BoM involves
nothing more than an acceptance that one believes its true - an acceptance many
of us fought and still fight; an acknowledgment of one’s own intuitive
knowledge that “what I've just read it true”; a realization
that “Spirit just spoke to spirit”. A liberating moment to be sure,
but without a ‘hallelujah’ experience. No coincidences’
involved, such as missionaries knocking on the door just as I was pondering on
its truth, or Dad calling after 30 years to say “I’m sorry”
just as I read the last verse of Moroni. More like a sweet liberation from a
cancerous Doubt. Those of us who accepted that truth while wallowing in the
gutter will have more to talk about years later, but the fortunate few who never
made it that low do not have a weaker, or absent, testimony, even if their
testimony seems bland or trumpet-free.

Hey It's MeSalt Lake City, UT

April 10, 2014 8:31 a.m.

@ ultragrandpa - a member of my ward, back east, testified to that very thing.
Someone put a Book of Mormon on a library shelf, and he found it. Didn't
know anything about it, but took it and read it, then joined the Church. He was
very grateful someone put it there and that he was willing to investigate what
the book was.

PopsNORTH SALT LAKE, UT

April 10, 2014 5:56 a.m.

The Book of Mormon has had an extraordinarily powerful and transformative
influence in my life. As a general rule, I feel spiritual enlightenment and
inspiration each time I sit down and read and ponder it. I suspect Moontan may
be close to the bull's eye regarding ultragrampa. I resorted to the Book of
Mormon to escape a dark place in my life. Those who have never been anyplace
dark probably can't appreciate the light as much as those who have.
I'm not suggesting that he, nor anyone else, take a trip to the dark side
so they can appreciate being rescued, because you may not be able to recover
from such an action.

MoontanRoanoke, VA

April 9, 2014 8:06 p.m.

@ultragrampa ... That reads to me like you've had the confirmation all
along. We spend all our life drinking cola, we aren't going to be all that
delighted when someone hands us a cola. A man raised in the desert who spends
his years looking for sand is bound to be disappointed. Seems like you've
had a blessing all along, not needing to be thunderstruck by an emotional-laden
testimony (not that those are bad things). Just a thought, sir.

MichiganderWestland, MI

April 9, 2014 5:31 p.m.

1.96 Standard Deviations:

Thank you for your very thoughtful
questions. We only accept D&C 87 in the total D&C volume as a true
revelation of JS. I'll try to provide brief answers to your other
questions.

We view Sidney Rigdon as being the rightful successor in
the crisis after Jun.27, 1844. We also hold the view that SR had the priesthood
authority up until 1847 when he went far astray. William Bickerton had that same
authority from 1845 under Rigdon's organization but he did not go astray.
We believe he was thus the rightful successor to Joseph Smith in the Presidency.
Sidney Rigdon was also rejected by our Oct. 3, 1863 Church Conference because
Sidney insisted to us that he be considered the spokesman in 2 Ne. 3:17-18.
Sidney was completely rebuffed.

We do not accept D&C 76. We
believe it was a false experience of both JS and SR. We believe the 3 heavens
are the earth's atmosphere (which consists of 5 layers), outer space, and
heaven (where God dwells).

I hope this helps answer your questions.
Your welcome.

1.96 Standard DeviationsOREM, UT

April 9, 2014 11:12 a.m.

Michigander:

How does your denomination view Sidney Rigdon, or what
importance does he have in your church's history?

Also, I
believe your denomination does not accept any sections of the Doctrine &
Covenants as scripture, but I am curious on what your denomination's view
is on the relation between Sidney Rigdon and what is recorded in D&C 76?

D&C 76 is where both Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon were visited
by the resurrected Jesus Christ. It is also when they both learned more about
the degrees of glory in the afterlife and many other things.

What
does your denomination say about this experience Sidney Rigdon had? Any idea why
D&C 76 isn't accepted as scripture if your denomination believes Sidney
Rigdon had this divine experience?

If I made any wrong assumptions
about your church, please correct me. Thanks.

1.96 Standard DeviationsOREM, UT

April 9, 2014 10:52 a.m.

The Scientist:

As someone mentioned to you some time ago in these
discussion boards, your answer has probably come in the form of a dear angel
(your wife). Maybe you can ask her how she gained, and recognized, an answer to
the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon again? If you "dearly and deeply want
to know the truth of this book and Church" maybe it will be worthwhile to
ask her again?

The ScientistProvo, UT

April 9, 2014 10:14 a.m.

I just wonder why my testimony against the truthfulness ("truthiness"?)
of the Book of Mormon was rejected by the DN editorialists while
ultragrandpa's was not?

I have read, studied, fasted and prayed
about, the BOM repeatedly over thirty years of marriage to the best Mormon there
is, and I have never received any confirmation that it is "true". I have
successfully completed BOM religion classes at BYU, and attended Education Week
presentations by some of the best scholars the Church has.

Indeed,
all the "light of Christ", intelligence, and wit and wisdom I have tells
me it is a 19th century fabrication.

I do not share this
"testimony" lightly. My LDS wife has hoped and prayed for my conversion
from the day we met. I dearly and deeply want to know the truth of this book and
Church. Those who unrighteously judge me (and others like me) as being too
proud, insincere, or otherwise unworthy to receive a witness are hypocrites and
guilty of the same ad hominem attacks used by the tailors in the parable of the
Emperor's New Clothes. Dismissing and trivializing the experiences that are
contrary to your beliefs is offensive and unrighteous.

MichiganderWestland, MI

April 9, 2014 9:30 a.m.

The entire Book of Mormon (current gospel doctrines and future prophesied
events) is correctly interpreted and understood completely by only one Restored
Gospel church, The Church of Jesus Christ (WHQ: Monongahela, Pennsylvania), and
it is the only true succession of the restored gospel with the priesthood
authority on the earth today.

timcharperSaratoga Springs, UT

April 9, 2014 12:18 a.m.

I no longer believe after studying origins of the Book of Mormon.

Sasha PachevProvo, UT

April 8, 2014 4:27 p.m.

I was raised an atheist in the Soviet Union. When I read the Book of Mormon for
the first time I had a special feeling, and I have experienced it frequently
since over the last 21 years. A few years ago Elder Holland mentioned the
conversion of his great-grandfather whose reaction to the Book of Mormon was:
"No wicked man could write such a book as this; and no good man would write
it, unless it were true". I was stunned - this was a perfect description of
my response when I read it as a new convert back in Moscow. How can a 19th
century American raised in a Christian religion and a 20th century Russian
raised under the communist ideology see it exactly the same way?

ultragrampaFarmington, UT

April 8, 2014 4:01 p.m.

I wonder if someone who just picked up the Book of Mormon on a whim, found it on
a library shelf maybe and had never heard of it before, and then read it through
- I wonder if such a person could receive a "witness of it's
truthfulness" if they didn't know they could maybe expect such a thing?

Brahmabullsandy, ut

April 8, 2014 3:50 p.m.

I could read any book in 65 days and if I read it enough times I could convince
myself that it is true... even if it isn't.

JamescmeyerMidwest City, USA, OK

April 8, 2014 3:22 p.m.

If you seek a confirmation of the truth of the Book of Mormon, it must be done,
as the book says, with humility; a broken heart and a contrite spirit. It
doesn't say you'll know immediately. If you go through motions
because your're expected to, there is no gain. Though I don't
necessarily accuse any commentator here of this, if you by some degree
don't -want- the Book of Mormon to be an inspired work, you will have no
witness any more than the Lord advocated casting pearls to swine.

If
you consider exercising even a tiny portion of faith; if you so much as consider
incorporating principles of the Book of Mormon in your life as you read it; if
you read it purely objectively, you will be able to know, immediately or later,
at once or gradually, through some means you may or may not expect, that it is
true. I guarantee specifically that if you "turn atheist" after reading
it, you've positioned yourself against it on your own.

ADNWeiser, ID

April 8, 2014 12:34 p.m.

I know that the prophetic promises regarding Book of Mormon study are true! The
speed read has its benefits. It can be compared to water skiing verses scuba
diving. When you scuba dive the Book of Mormon you explore and feel and study.
But to water ski it can give you the lay of the land, it helps you see the
storyline and it gives you precious insights to patterns themes and principles
that are connected.

I know that the promises and truth come to me
when my heart is soft enough and I allow the book and Holy Ghost to teach me. I
also have found that I learn and feel more when I actually apply the principles
I learn to my life sincerely. I know that the Book of Mormon will become like
an iron rod piercing darkness and lead a person to Christ if they actually move
(apply the word) along the path of discipleship.

ScoopBattle Ground, WA

April 8, 2014 12:18 p.m.

I read the Book of Mormon all the way through for the first time during the
first 3 months of my mission back in the 80's. I received a strong
confirmation, often, while I was reading it, that it was true, but was surprised
that I didn't receive confirmation when I was through reading the book.
Until later, when the Spirit testified and reminded me that my confirmation came
during my daily reading. Personally, I can't deny how strong that
confirmation was to me.

AL The Younger Gilbert, AZ

April 8, 2014 9:22 a.m.

any challenge to read the BOM or motivate you to continue reading is a good one.

quicksandsandy, UT

April 8, 2014 8:22 a.m.

Amirite that meme is from Lord of the Rings a movie about light prevailing over
darkness haha not Game of Thrones even though that actor is in both series. Why
did they add the word "just" to the meme? It should be "one does not
simply" common!!!

slcdenizent-ville, UT

April 8, 2014 6:35 a.m.

I read the Book of Mormon thorougly on my mission and became an atheist. Guess
you can't win them all.

Fred TPHOENIX, AZ

April 8, 2014 1:39 a.m.

There are 521 pages in the BofM.To read it in one year requires reading
1.5 pages per day. double that and 3 pages a day has you reading it in 6
months. You'll have to read 12.5 pages per day to make it in 85 days.The best challenge was issued by the Weber State Institute in the 90's.
Read it in 2 days.This takes about 9 hours a day to do. This
assumes a normal reading speed of a little over 2 minutes a page.The per
day time requirements to meat thse goals are respectivley,3 mins (365
days), 6 mins (182 days), 12.5 mins (85 days) and 9-hours (2 days).

Once heard Jack Christianson say that if we'd only read 10 pages a day
from the scriptures, we could read the BofM twice in a year and the Old/New
Testamant, the Pearl of Great Price and D&C once. 3 for the BofM and 7 for
the others.

Just ten pages a day...... That's less than 1/2
hour a day.

Bro Simon SaysRIVERTON, UT

April 7, 2014 11:36 p.m.

@amirite, quick correction on your comment. The picture for this meme is not
from Game of Thrones. It is from The Lord of the Rings, and is a pretty popular
picture for memes. You gotta know your memes! Know what I meme? Hopefully you
will still take the challenge even though it won't be full of the stuff you
had assumed :o)

ThinksIThinkSEATTLE, WA

April 7, 2014 11:33 p.m.

In the 1980's I read the Book of Mormon over a three months. My roommate
was a returned missionary and suggested I read the book and pray about it. At
his request, I did set out to read it cover to cover. I've read dozens of
books that length in a few weeks, but I really had a tough time getting through
it because it's was just very dry. I really had a hard time staying awake.
I prayed to know whether the book was true, but much to my roommates
disappointment, I received no confirmation that the book was true.

I've spoken with some mormons who have never actually read the Book of
Mormon cover to cover. I think LDS members should all read the Book of Mormon
cover to cover before committing themselves to the doctrine.

Twin LightsLouisville, KY

April 7, 2014 11:14 p.m.

ultragrampa,

My experience was not like yours but my witness of the
Book of Mormon did not come immediately. That came for me from reading the
Doctrine and Covenants. But I did eventually find that witness and that spirit
in the Book of Mormon.

ultragrampaFarmington, UT

April 7, 2014 10:01 p.m.

I'm 6+ decades old, been a church member all my life. Served a mission,
graduated BYU, married in the temple, raised 6 kids, served in about every
calling a man could be asked to serve in on a Branch and Ward level and had many
Stake callings as well. Everyone who knows me thinks of me as the quintessential
church member.

I have read the Book of Mormon more times than most
of you. And I have never once - not ever - felt any sort of spiritual prompting
regarding the book or my study of it. Weird, right? Like what's up with
that???

The seminary teacher states of those who accept his
challenge; "They will have an increased measure of the Spirit of the Lord,
they will have greater power to resist temptation, and they will know for
themselves that it is true scripture from our loving Heavenly Father."

Oh yeah? Well I have done just that dozens of times and have yet to
"know for (myself) that it is true scripture from our loving Heavenly
Father." It's frustrating, that's what it is.

DrGrooveySalt Lake City, UT

April 7, 2014 9:36 p.m.

One time I read the Book of Mormon in 18 days. Other times I have spent over a
year reading through it. Reading at different paces brings out different
aspects of the book. A slow read lets you ponder all of the doctrines in depth.
A fast read lets you see the big overall picture and a gives you a much better
grasp for the completeness of the testament. Either way build testimony and
increases your spiritual knowledge. I recommend reading it both ways so you get
the full experience.

windsorCity, Ut

April 7, 2014 9:33 p.m.

As pointed out in a meme at the site, though the challenge to read it that
quickly may seem somewhat daunting, imagine translating it in that amount of
time. Wow.

amiriteSalt Lake City, UT

April 7, 2014 7:10 p.m.

I love that for the meme, they used Game of Thrones -- a movie/book full of
violence, nudity, and sex (straight, gay, lesbian, and incest sex.. *gasp*). I
think I might join the challenge just for that reason :)

AnnenCorvallis, OR

April 7, 2014 3:55 p.m.

As a seminary teacher I have done this before. It's like reading a
"regular" story. Loved the experience and I am so excited to do this
again.:)

ManInTheMiddleSANDY, UT

April 7, 2014 3:15 p.m.

As one who has finished a "speed read" program of the Book of Mormon I
highly recommend it. I found that the "speed read" was one of many
effective ways to learn of the Savior's teachings. Good luck to all who
take this challenge.

srwRiverton, UT

April 7, 2014 3:13 p.m.

If you haven't read the Book of Mormon, you really should. But take your
time.

I recently completed a challenge to read the Book of Mormon in
six months (a lot longer than 85 days) and even that was too fast for me. I
feel that my study time is better spent if I take my time.

NavajoLamaniteReno, NV

April 7, 2014 2:49 p.m.

i read the Book of Mormon daily and rely on the strength I receive from its
messages. I do not like the "speed read" programs used. I know the
idea is to get people to read the Book of Mormon and experience its power for
themselves, but I think the method is incorrect. Burning through the scriptures
do not accomplish anything other than to just "get through them". Which
is not the point. I think, a few thoughtful minutes a day accomplishes much
more.